Historical consideration of the development of publication copyright and other legal intervention in the English book trade extends beyond the wording of legislation, proclamations, and civil and common case law to their effectiveness and enforcement. This article argues that study of a broader history of legal controls and permissions affecting printing and publication in England before the Copyright Act of 1842 highlights the circumventions, misapplications, and misconceptions that sometimes masked underlying continuities and enabled commercial interests and political initiatives to develop despite the word of law.